Analysis Of C-295 MW

The defence of any country consists of an army, Air Force and the Navy. Along with the recruitment of soldiers, the government also has to provide them with various defence equipment and weapons like the tanks for the army, military attack aircraft for the air force and the ships for the Navy. The CASA C-295 is one such aircraft originally designed by the CASA company in Spain. The Spanish Airforce included this aircraft in their air force in 2001. Let us learn about the C295 aircraft, the HS 748 Avro aircraft and the Avro aircraft HAL.

Airbus C-295

The Airbus C-295 was previously called the EADS CASA C-295. A Spanish company named CASA designed test medium practical transport aircraft in the 1990s. When CASA company was incorporated into the European aeronautical group EADS in 2001, the aircraft was renamed EADS CASA C-295. The first flight of this aircraft took place on 28th November 1997. This aircraft is far superior to the HS 748 Avro aircraft. The Spanish force enlisted this aircraft in service in the year 2001.

There are a lot of military missions that C- 295 is capable of performing, such as logical transport, medical evacuation, parachute and cargo drop and Maritime patrol. The C-295 aircraft has received the civil certificate listed by the government agencies in its service. Various countries like Spain, Canada, Mexico and Portugal have acquired this aircraft. The countries of Afghanistan, Yugoslavia and Iraq have had this aircraft in their international operations.

The design and development of C-295

The assembling of the C-295 is conducted in the Airbus defence and space facility situated in San Pablo airport in Spain. CASA initiated the development of C-295 in November of 1997. The Spanish Air Force ordered 9 C-295 aircraft in April of 1999. The Indian Airforce purchased about 56 Airbus C-295 MW in the year 2021. This aircraft is considered better than the HS 748 Avro aircraft. In 2012, various improvements to the design of C-295, like the adoption of winglets and the capacity to carry the Marte anti-ship missile and a dedicated airborne warning and control variant, were made. A new probe-and-drogue Aerial refuelling ring was also put on the aircraft’s centre line for aerial refuelling of combat helicopters in January of 2016. The Indian Air Force picked the C-295 aircraft over the HS 748 Avro aircraft.

The variants of C-295

Let us learn about the variants of C-295.

• C-295: This variant of C-295 is a military transport version. This variant has 71 troops, 48 paratroops and 27 stretchers, and light vehicles.

• C-295 W: 
• This is the variant of C-295, which includes winglets, which will improve its performance during take-off, climb and 

cruise flight phases due to an increase in the lift to drag ratio.

• CN-295:The CN-295 is the anti-submarine warfare version with provisions for six hardpoints.

• The C-295 SIGINT: It is the signals intelligence version of the C-295 aircraft.

Operators of C-295

Let us take a look at the various operators of the C-295.

• Algeria:

The Air force has implemented six C-295 aircraft for Maritime petrol and transport duties. One of them was lost in an accident.

• Bangladesh:

The aviation group of the Bangladesh army owns one C-295W and uses it for tactical transport.

• Brazil: 

The Brazilian Air Force employs about 13 C-295s to replace its old ageing buffalo transports. The total went up to 15 in the year 2020.

• Angola:

The Angola aircraft owns 3 C-295s, one for transport and one for Maritime patrol duties.

HS 748 Avro aircraft

Let us now learn about the HS 748 Avro aircraft. British aircraft manufacturer company Avro designed this medium-sized turboprop airliner. It is also regarded as the Avro aircraft HAL as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is one of its manufacturers. The total number of these aircraft’s bills till today is 380. The first flight of the HS 748 Avro aircraft took place on 24 June 1960.

The variants of this aircraft are given below. There are more too.

• 748 series 1: It is a medium-range hair liner powered by Rolls-Royce engines.
• 748 series 2: This variation has a higher take-off weight.

The Indian Air Force chose to buy C-295 aircraft over the HS 748 Avro aircraft.

Conclusion:

The Airforce is an important part of the defence of any country. So, a country must enlist excellent aircraft in service of its air force. The Airbus C-295 is one such popular aircraft. 

It first took flight in 1997. Various variants of the C-295, such as the C-295W, C-295 ISR, C-295 MPA, C-295 AEW&C, etc., exist. About 15 countries have enlisted C-295 in its Air Force like Algeria, Bangladesh, Canada, India, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, etc. India previously owned the HS 748 Avro aircraft, but due to its ageing, they had to replace them with Airbus C-295.